REVIEW : THUNDERSPORTS
Lockie leads in the Silverstone spray
Welcome to the thunder dome
It was a fine season for HSCC Thundersports , with a first class calendar , excellent grids and close racing .
The grid for the season opening races at Silverstone in May looked and sounded stunning and Calum Lockie in the mighty March 717 shot clear on the opening lap . Lockie ’ s escape was boosted when Dean Forward had a big moment under braking into Stowe and spun his McLaren M8F . Forward got going again but dropped a lot of places in the process .
Meanwhile , John Burton had started his Chevron B26 from the back of the grid . A safety car period interrupted the race and allowed the field to bunch up . From the green Lockie again went clear as Forward chased , moving into second when Warren Briggs spun his McLaren M8E at the restart . The 2-litre contest was between Tony Sinclair ( Lola T292 ) and Burton who needed all his experience to edge Sinclair to the line .
In the second race the rain became heavy enough for the race to be halted . After a break , Lockie won again as Forward gave chase in the McLaren . Burton was the best of the 2-litre cars .
At Donington , Forward took a double victory after Lockie was side-lined in both races . On Sunday , Forward led
Trevor Welsh was mighty in Sports 2000
James Claridge won a Brands Hatch thriller
from the front as Lockie started the March from the back and charged through to second before bodywork problems forced retirement .
Best of the 2-litre cars on Saturday was Burton from Mark Richardson ( Lola T290 ) while Trevor Welsh ( Lola T492 ) topped the Sports 2000s . With Burton not starting Sunday ’ s race , Richardson led the chase of Forward , with John Spiers ( Osella ) rounding out the podium . A fabulous Sports 2000 battle went to the flag as Welsh drove very well to fend off Will Schryver and Tim Jacobsen after many place changes .
The Brands Hatch GP race was another excellent contest as James Claridge ( Chevron B23 ) and Mark Richardson ( Lola T290 ) battled mightily through the 40-minute race . Over the second half , Claridge was able to edge out a little margin but Richardson rechallenged in the final laps and got the gap down to just four tenths of a second .
Will Schryver headed the Sports 2000 field in his Royale RP37 and among the GT cars , Neil Merry put his Chevrolet Corvette ahead of the similar car of Peter Hallford and they made a fabulous spectacle .
The race at Classic Silverstone was re-started after heavy rain fell on the slick-shod pack . Lockie set the early pace after Forward spun the McLaren and nudged the wall but as the rain intensified Lockie lost time in the pit stop .
Sinclair dived ahead as Lockie gave chase despite having the March stuck in fifth gear . Lockie almost made it but needed one more lap to catch the Lola and was a third of a second adrift at the flag .
Greg Caton topped the GT cars in fifth in the ex-Richard Jenvey Lotus Esprit on the car ’ s first race in the UK for 40 years while the Sports 2000 win went to Ross Hyett ( Lola T88 / 90 ) as Welsh chased .
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